Shaun Shankel is an American

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominated,

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

winning songwriter and record producer, who has written and produced for some of the biggest selling artists in the pop and Christian and Country music markets, selling over seven million albums and singles. He has had 12 No. 1 hits and song placements in over 18 film, television and commercial campaigns.

Early life

Shankel grew up playing music in his family and with his grandfather on harmonica (he made several albums singing in a quartet with the Gospel Harolds), his father on guitar and Shaun on piano, they would sing and harmonize old hymns. He started studying piano professionally at 7 and by 10 was writing and performing his own songs in school. In high school he wrote for the glee club and played in several Indianapolis area rock bands. Shaun went to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

, where he graduated with a double degree in Audio Technology and Music and Telecommunications. Also while at school, he wrote music for television shows on the PBS affiliate, WTUI.

Music career

After college, Shankel moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, to work for writer/producer Keith Thomas, in various capacities. He assisted him in all aspects including engineering, writing and production management. During that time he worked with

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

98 Degrees 98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American pop and R&B vocal group consisting of four vocalists: the group's founding member Jeff Timmons, brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, and Justin Jeffre. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, C ...

, and

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

. After five years, Shankel decided to leave and pursue his own production career, and set up shop at Lealand Studios. During the next few years, Shankel became one of the most sought after producer/writers. Some of the artists he has worked with include

Kimberley Locke Kimberley Dawn Locke (born January 3, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She has recorded in the dance and pop genres, and has targeted the adult contemporary radio format. She was the cohost of the daytime talk ...

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her ac ...

Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...

Nicholas Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...

(and the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised i ...

) Jadyn Maria ( Herbal Essences national campaign), RJ Helton,

Natalie Grant Natalie Diane Grant (born December 21, 1971) is an American singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She received the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year four consecutive years (2006, 2007, 2008 an ...

Mandisa Mandisa Lynn Hundley (born October 2, 1976), known professionally as Mandisa, is an American gospel and contemporary Christian recording artist. Her career began as a contestant in the fifth season of ''American Idol'', in which she finished in ...

Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tel ...

, Rebecca St. James,

Jump 5 Jump5 was an American Christian teen pop group active from 1999 until 2007. The group was made up of five members from Nashville: Brandon and Brittany Hargest, Chris Fedun, Lesley Moore and Libby Hodges. After Libby Hodges left in 2004, Natash ...

Tyler Hilton Tyler James Hilton (born November 22, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Hilton began his professional career in music in 2000. ''Rolling Stone magazine'' compared him to his contemporary, Howie Day, while others have compared Hi ...

, Mark Schultz, Plumb,

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in th ...

, ZOEGirl, Michael English and For King & Country. During this time he also spotted a talent in songwriter in Kyle Jacobs and signed him to a joint venture, Fortune Favors the Bold Music Publishing, with Curb Music Publishing. Jacobs has recorded with

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albu ...

Kellie Pickler Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of ''American Idol'' and finished in sixth place. In 2006, she signed ...

and

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

, whose Jacobs penned hit single, " More Than a Memory", is the only song in history to debut at #1 on the country charts. In 2005, Shankel signed with

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

and while pursuing his own projects created another joint venture, Shankel Songs and signed Ben Glover, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s Christian writer of the Year, 2010, Joy Williams of

The Civil Wars The Civil Wars were an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, The Civil Wars won four Grammy Awards prior to their 2014 breakup. History 2008–2010 Both Williams and White had solo careers prior ...

, and For King & Country: The EP, whom he also produced.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shankel, Shaun Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Nashville, Tennessee Songwriters from Tennessee Record producers from Tennessee Indiana University alumni Place of birth missing (living people)